The Longest Night
by Machismo
Summary: The Doctor and Amy visit Xena, the heart of trade in the universe. But, the people have been wiped out and the last survivors have gone underground. What happened to the place? It soon becomes clear that they are dealing with an old Time Lord myth...
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: **Blah, blah, I don't own Doctor Who, its characters or objects etc. I imagine this is the most boring part of most fanfics.

**Plot:** Xena, a human colony, is the heart of trade and marketing in the universe, with species of all kinds descending upon Xena for exotic products and cheap goods. So, when the Doctor decides to take Amy there for a visit, you can imagine his surprise at how deserted the place is. But it gets worse for them. Xena is stuck in constant darkness and the last inhabitants of the colony have been forced underground. Can the Doctor save the survivors? What happened in the first place? Within time, it becomes clear to the Doctor, that the situation is the worst possible and he is dealing with what he thought was a ancient Time-Lord myth...

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Longest Night and something is lurking in the darkness.


	2. Crash Course

High above the planet surface, in the blackness of space, star-cruisers and other spaceships were making their final preparations for the descent into the atmosphere of Xena, a human colony. Located in a central position in the universe, the planet had a beautiful, somewhat mystical golden aura, shining like a Christmas bauble, a stark contrast to the dark space it was occupying. Xena was the heart of wealth and trade, an intergalactic marketplace for all manner of species and creatures. It was estimated that the planet dealt with one billion life forms per year, all of whom made the journey across space to trade goods and products. There was nothing you couldn't find on Xena, no product, no trade, was unavailable. The whole planet was dedicated to trade, with trillions of bazaars, stalls and establishments, covering each inch of land on the planet surface.

Like many of the ships that littered Xena's atmosphere, a starship with no name was cruising at a steady speed, before its nose dipped and the ship tilted ninety degrees. The engines rapidly accelerated and the ship's outer shell raged in fire and heat, as it had begun to fall through the planet's skies and towards the surface. Inside the ship, the on-board computers were frantic. Loud alarm bells were ringing and the ship's warning light caused the interior to glow in a pulsing red light. Desperately trying to change the ship's co-ordinates, the auto-pilot was fighting against the preset commands. However, the controls had been locked and the auto-pilot was useless. The computers went onto its next stage of warning, as an automated voice spoke in a calm, methodical way.

"Warning, current trajectory indicates a 100% chance of death for onboard passengers. It is recommended that all onboard passengers make their way to their designated escape pods."

The message was on a loop, fighting to make itself known, over the sound of the alarms and the proximity detector. However, there was no-one on board to listen to the warnings. At this point, the control center on Xena had detected the wild starship, and their humanoid controllers opened communications with the ship, in an attempt to avert disaster.

"Unidentified starship, this is Xena Control. You are on a crash-course with the planet surface, readjust your co-ordinates and pull up! Over?"

The sound of static filled the radio channel, as the controller anxiously waited for an answer.

"I repeat, you are on a crash-course with the central bazaar! Pull up! Over!"

Again, there was nothing, just the sound of static.

"Hello! Is there anyone on-board? Over?"

After further sounds of static, the humanoid controller left her desk and rushed across the control room to sound the alarm. Everyone in the room was aware of the situation and they watched the controller, as she pressed a large blue button on the wall, and spoke into the speaker underneath it. Her voice boomed out of a P.A system outside the control room, addressing the central bazaar and the surrounding areas.

"This is an urgent announcement from Xena Control to all security forces in the central bazaar; we have a probable Code 13/A/Red! Take your positions and initiate Protocol 4!"

The security forces sprang into life, directing the traders in the central bazaar to evacuate the area. There was mass hysteria, as everyone in the area was ushered away and they were left to flee into the surrounding streets and roads. Queues of customers filed out of the bazaar, away from the central market square, along with the security forces, who had their weapons firmly in their hands, choosing to run as well. The situation became clear to the people on the ground; a burning starship was racing towards the ground with no signs of stopping. If there were any cynicisms about the evacuation, there were soon gone and everyone went into panic mode, desperately running away from the bazaar as quickly as their legs or similar features could take them. But it made no difference, as the starship collided into the ground with devastating effect. The engines exploded into a huge fireball and the pure nuclear energy that powered them, swept the planet in every direction in a huge wave, which flattened buildings, bazaars and all living things in the area. Seconds after the initial impact, every living thing within a hundred miles of the crash site had been reduced to atoms. The fires raged from the burnt-up starship, which had also been reduced to unrecognisable rubble. A pillar of smoke and ashes drifted into the sky, illuminating the night, as a heavy downpour of torrential rain started to fall from the heavens above.


	3. Heavy Rain

"Miss Pond, do you enjoy the ancient pastime of shopping?"

Amy's face lit up into a wide smile, and she clapped her hands in excitement.

"I will take your somewhat ridiculous happy clapping as a yes. Oooh, happy clapping. That's very catchy, isn't it? Happy clapping, happy clapping, happy clapping. It's even fun to say! Say it with me, Amelia!"

"Happy clapping?"

"Excellently said, kudos! Now, shopping! I know a wonderful place that we can check out."

"Wait, I don't have my purse. And even if I did, would they accept Earth money?"

"Amelia, this place isn't just a place. It's an entire planet, dedicated to trade and market. Millions of stalls and shops, a shopping haven for the whole universe, so yes, they accept any currency, from pound sterling to Martian credits. In fact, in past lives, I've got away with Monopoly money. So, there is no need for a purse, because the TARDIS can take care of currency, any amount, any type. We can go spending mad."

Again, Amy happy clapped and rushed across the console room to hug the Doctor, who was happy to return the gesture.

"Thank you!"

"Don't thank me, thank the TARDIS, now go and get ready. It's usually quite warm this time of year."

Amy broke the hug with the Doctor, and kissed the TARDIS console.

"Thank you, TARDIS."

As Amy skipped away from the console room to get ready, the Doctor was in a brilliant mood. He was practically dancing around the console, which pinged and produced a plastic card from a slot on the centre of the controls. The Doctor snatched at it, before putting the card inside his jacket pocket. He then stared into the central column of the console, looking at his reflection, and fiddling with his hair and straightening his crimson red bow-tie. The Doctor even widened his mouth and licked his teeth with his tongue, before he was interrupted by the reappearance of Amy, who had come back to the console room, in a short blue top, leggings and white hi-top trainers. The Doctor inspected her attire, and nodded in approval, as Amy giggled in a giddy mood. The Doctor motioned to the TARDIS door, and the two met there. Together, they left the TARDIS and stepped outside. The TARDIS had landed in a quiet alleyway, and the two stepped outside into a wild flurry of rain, which sent shivers down Amy's spine, who was dressed for summer.

"I thought you said it was quite warm?"

"Well, I think I got the timings wrong, because it's night and I aimed for day."

"Great. You got the time wrong."

The Doctor looked at his wrist watch and tried to confirm the time.

"Apparently, it's 15:10. Add a new watch to our shopping list. Oh well, I'm sure the rain will stop. Come on."

The Doctor and Amy made their way down the alleyway and ended up on the street. It resembled a high-street with hundreds of vividly-coloured shop fronts, fighting to grab people's attention. They were written in bright neon lights and advertised everything from clothes to weapons to spaceships. The Doctor stood in the middle of the street and observed everything around him, as Amy stood and gawped at the endless rows of buildings, before snapping out of her state and noticed the Doctor playing with a desk-like object in the middle of the street. He was touching buttons on the side, which activated a hologram map. It zoned in on their current position and showed them where they were.

"Ah, I sort of got the positioning wrong as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we are here."

The Doctor pointed to their location on the map, his finger causing the image to ripple.

"But, I wanted to be here, which is the central bazaar, the biggest shopping centre in the universe, the size of entire cities. It's about seven miles away though."

Amy frowned at the Doctor, as thick raindrops ran down her face and dropped from her chin.

"Seven miles?"

"Yeah… but don't worry, this place runs on a 24/7 basis, it never sleeps, I will just find some transport, a taxi service of some kind."

"Why can't you use the TARDIS?"

"Planet rules dictate that all transport must be parked at least three miles away from the central bazaar, apparently it helps with congestion."

Amy looked miserable, the rain continuing to run down her face.

"Oh, cheer up! Shopping! Yay!"

Amy was less eager than before and stared at the Doctor with a screwed-up face. He took off his jacket and gave it to Amy, who grabbed it from his hands and put it on her bare shoulders.

"There, that's better, isn't it?"

"No."

The Doctor scowled at her, before walking away from the hologram map, which had faded away. Amy caught up with him, and they started to make the trek away from the rows of lit-up shops that surrounded them.

"Doctor, I thought you said this place was 24/7? I haven't seen anyone."

"Well, these are the outskirts. Most of the traders tend to go to the central bazaar, these are just small shops, who are trying to get as close to the centre as possible."

"What about the shopkeepers?"

"Shopkeepers? Amelia, this is the 24th century. The shops are automated, no need for shopkeepers when you can have computers."

After a trek that seemed to last forever, the Doctor and Amy came to the end of the street. Again, there was no movement, no transport and no-one around. It was then that the Doctor started to get suspicious, so he motioned to Amy to follow him, before pulling the sonic screwdriver from his trouser pocket. He used to unlock a door that said 'Employee Entrance', and they cautiously entered the building. Inside was reminiscent of a typical family home, with exquisite food on an oak table, alongside a plush leather couch and armchairs. The Doctor didn't stop for sightseeing, instead, he made his way through the room to a backdoor, using the sonic screwdriver to unlock it and the door flew open. Outside, the rain continued to fall and they were in another road. Surrounding them was several multi-storey buildings, which loomed over the Doctor and Amy, boxing them in. Once again, it was empty.

"Doctor? Where are we?"

"Behind-the-scenes. The employee's section, and by employees, I mean, the actual people. We are in their part of the city."

"There's no-one here."

"I know, this place has hundreds of thousands of visitors per day, and we haven't seen a single living thing. Someone is wrong here."

"Maybe, it's closed?" 

"It never closes; it's open day after day after day, because if it did, the universal economy would collapse. Xena is too important."

The Doctor left the cover of the house and ran into the middle of the road, looking around him.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

His voice echoed amongst the buildings and there was no answer. Amy left the house as well, running through the puddles of water on the ground, causing it to splash up and dampen Amy's trainers. The silence was unnerving for the Doctor, who called out in frustration.

"HELLO!"

All of a sudden, the windows of each building flew open and many laser sights pointed in the Doctor and Amy's direction, directed at their chests. In the windows, the Doctor could make out the figures of people, clutching similar weapons. They were wearing typical gas-marks, with hoods over his heads to cover them. One of the people shouted out in a deep monotone, which also resonated off the walls of each building.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Amelia Pond, now stop pointing those weapons at us."

"You are a doctor?"

The Doctor, who was looking around the area to try and find the voice, decided to go with the flow of things and held his psychic paper in the air.

"Yes, I'm a doctor, see! Look at the paper!"

"If you are a doctor, you will help us?"

"Yes, I will help you; just stop pointing your weapons at us. It's unsettling." 

One by one, the laser sights disappeared from the Doctor and Amy's chests, until there was nothing. The shouting man quickly spoke again.

"Approach!"

"Approach where, exactly?"

"Turn on the spot and walk straight forwards. Enter this building here."

The Doctor and Amy followed their orders and true to their word, the door to the building swung open. The Doctor put his hand on Amy's shoulder, before leading her out of the rain and through the doorway. Inside, the masked person was waiting for them, along with several others, who were dressed in the same style. As soon as everyone was inside, one of the men slammed the door behind them shut, and everything was quiet. They shut all the windows and locked them up, until the room was completely dark. The sound of the rain outside was the only noise. Suddenly, there was a sharp rumble and the wooden floor panels pulled apart from each other, revealing a manhole underneath. The Doctor looked down the manhole and noticed a ladder running parallel to it. He could not see the bottom of the shaft, but the masked men motioned to the ladder, telling the Doctor to climb down. He obliged, followed by Amy, and then the group of armed people, who shut the hole behind them, as the floor panels closed and all light, was gone.


	4. Underground

It was eerily quiet, with just the sound of everyone's feet shuffling down the rungs of the ladder. The Doctor hit the bottom and in front of him was a small service-tunnel, scantily-lit by a few lamps and lanterns. As everyone gathered at the bottom of the shaft, the masked men led the way, with the Doctor and Amy walking in the middle as if they were being led in a convoy. The tunnel stretched out for what seemed a mile, but they eventually arrived at a dead-end. However, one of the men pulled away a panel on the wall, touched two wires together and the wall in front of them slid away in a much delayed manner. Behind the bulkhead, they were met by a dim light and they were brought into the room, before the wall slammed shut behind them. The room they were standing in was the size of a hall, and had many people slumming on the floor, with moth-eaten blankets covering their shaking bodies and legs. The atmosphere was grim; everyone in the room looked pale and tired, staring at the Doctor and Amy with bleak expressions. As this point, the masked men were no longer masked; they had taken off their gas-masks and dropped them onto the thin, metal surface, revealing the same bleak expressions that everyone else in the room was wearing on their faces. One of the men, who had ruffled brown hair that pointed out wildly, clicked his fingers in the Doctor's face, who was taking in his surroundings.

"You, Doctor, follow the man with the bald head. He will take you to see the captain."

The Doctor nodded in confirmation, as he went to join the aforementioned man, who took him to the back of the room, where an older gentleman was crouched in the corner. His area of the room was slightly brighter than everyone else, illuminated by several torches on the floor. He was crouching over a large piece of paper, which the Doctor deduced was a map, a blueprint of some kind.

"Captain?"

The gentlemen did not break his concentration to talk to the man, who was waiting with the Doctor and Amy. Instead, he just spoke without looking at him.

"Yes, 53?"

"We recovered two survivors on the surface; one of them is a doctor."

The captain then broke his focus, turning away from his work to look up at the Doctor, who was standing idly, blinking wildly at the intense torch light in that section of the room.

"Really? A doctor?"

The captain stood on his feet, towering over the Doctor in terms of height and firmly grabbed his hand and shook it almost off his wrist.

"53, leave me with the Doctor and make sure everyone is properly hydrated."

The abstractly-named 53 followed the captain's orders and left the Doctor and Amy with his superior.

"It's good to meet you, Doctor…?"

The captain waited, as if he was waiting for the Doctor to fill in the rest of his name.

"Oh, no second name, just the Doctor will do fine."

"Fine by me, who is the female to your side?"

Amy took it upon herself to introduce herself to the captain.

"I'm Amelia Pond. Or Amy, whatever is good for you."

Then the Doctor interrupted the introductions with a serious, business-like persona.

"Great, now that we are introduced, I would like to know exactly what is happening here, because I was sort-of forced to come here at gunpoint, so you must really need me."

"I apologise for that, but it's probably best that you came down here."

"Why? Why are you here? And where is everyone on the surface?"

The captain sighed, before crouching back onto the floor, motioning for the Doctor and Amy to do the same. He then spoke in a hushed voice, almost a whisper, trying not to alert the people around him.

"I led a group of soldiers here, at the instruction of the Shadow Proclamation, after Xena was put on lockdown."

"Lockdown?"

"Yes, the universal economy crashed and we heard nothing from the planet. People got worried and we were sent to find out what had happened."

"How long ago was that?"

"We arrived a week ago, with the objective of finding out what happened and reporting back to the Proclamation, but our communicators don't work, so we were stranded. We found this place on arrival, set up base and tried to access the video archives to find out why Xena went into lockdown. We also started trying to find people on the surface, which we did. The survivors have helped us to piece together what happened."

"So, what did happen?"

The captain tapped his fingers on the floor, before getting back to his feet and telling the Doctor to follow him. They walked across the room and to the opposite corner, where there was a small monitor embedded in the wall. Using the touch screen interface, the captain pulled up a video file, muted the volume and pressed a large play symbol. The Doctor watched intently, as it showed footage from a security camera, as a ship crashed into the central bazaar, before it exploded and sent a wave of energy in every direction. The captain paused the footage, to watch the Doctor's reaction, who appeared confused, before talking again.

"So, ship crashes, engines explode and the energy wipes out life. But, that ship didn't look big enough to wipe out everyone, and the energy looked like nuclear particles, which wouldn't do that much damage."

"Yes, I know, but if I forward the footage to a couple of hours later…"

The captain used a dial to move the video forward, before playing it at a normal speed. In the burning crater at the centre of the flattened bazaar, there was a quick flash of what looked like smoke, flying away from the crash site. The Doctor was drawn to the video, shoved the captain away and controlled the screen himself. He repeatedly played the footage, as the trail repeated itself over and over. The captain moved back again, before whispering to the Doctor.

"We managed to get hold of some scans from a couple of minutes before that footage, and Xena Control confirmed it. Something… something was in the rubble. We can't figure it what it is though. Any guesses?"

The Doctor held his sonic screwdriver to the screen, the screwdriver making its pulsing green light. It caused the footage to play at a frame-by-frame rate, which the captain appeared impressed by. However, the movement will still too quick and the Doctor used the screwdriver again. This time, it was even slower and they could pick up the rough silhouette of the mystery 'something'. The Doctor paused the footage and superimposed the picture, zooming in closer. Finally, he could make out the figure of it. Its appearance shocked the Doctor, whilst the captain squinted and tried to make out what it was. The Doctor stumbled over his words, and it was Amy who broke the stunned silence.

"Doctor? Do you know what it is?"

The captain turned to the Doctor to see if he did, as the Time Lord covered his face with his hands. He eventually pulled them off his face, instead wrapping them around the back of his neck, pointing his elbows outwards.

"Doctor? What is it?"

"It's… it can't be…"

The Doctor rushed back to the screen and inspected the still-image closer, confirming his thoughts and guesses.

"I always thought it was a myth, Amelia. An ancient myth that I heard back home, but… at the moment… it looks so real. Like they described."

The captain took Amy's turn to question the Doctor.

"Doctor, whatever that thing is, it has wiped out all life on this planet. My men, my soldiers are at risk here, so I have a right to know, what is that?"

The Doctor spoke in a harsh tone, conveying all the fear and tension in his voice.

"That, Captain, is the stuff of nightmares. If the Time Lords were right, that is the most savage and dangerous beast in existence. They're called the Barbarus. And we need to leave this planet… immediately!"


	5. The Divide

"Leaving isn't an option, Doctor. We have to stay here."

The Doctor was pacing backwards and forwards, whilst the captain tried to reason with him.

"Captain, it is in the best interests for you, your team and these people, that you follow me to my ship and we wave goodbye to Xena, because this planet is lost."

"Doctor, no enemy is unbeatable. So, tell me, what are the Barbarus?"

The Doctor lowered his voice and mumbled, so not to alert or worry anyone in the room, who might be eavesdropping.

"When I was back home, the Time Lords shared stories of a race of creatures, a race of beasts, called the Barbarus. They were described as having the most distinct form, like werewolves, but they were the best predators in the universe. They move impossibly quickly, have no sense of mercy and will hunt anything, whether you are a man, woman or child. If you have a pulse, they will pounce."

"How could we fight them?"

Suddenly, it was the Doctor who turned on the captain, speaking with a clear anger and stress in his voice, raising it louder than a whisper.

"Fight them? Why would you want to fight them? I just told you, the Barbarus are the ultimate predators! They are savages, and if they find everyone down here, hiding in the darkness, they will take one good look and then feast! Tear you apart, rip you into pieces! The only option you have right now, captain, is to run."

"No disrespect to you, Doctor, but you have just arrived here; don't tell me what options I have. We represent the Shadow Proclamation and we have a clear objective, which we won't just ignore because things have got dangerous."

"You said that your objective was to find out what happened, and gather survivors. Congratulations, you have done both of those."

The captain went silent, turning his back to the Doctor, who put his hand in front of him to stop him from walking away.

"Captain, there's something you're not telling me. You have no real reason to stay here, and in no disrespect to you, you seem like a very scared man. Now, it would be best if you tell me exactly what you are hiding from me."

At first, the captain maintained his silence, keeping the intense eye-contact with the Doctor. Then he exhaled sharply, his expression changed and he started to talk.

"The Shadow Proclamation tasked our unit with another objective."

"What?"

"We were sent here to retrieve an important package from the Vault."

"The Vault?"

"Yes, it's a large building located in the central bazaar, containing priceless artifacts and other objects that are too important to be kept in the public eye."

The Doctor took in a deep breath, and put his hands around his neck again.

"That is just about typical of the Shadow Proclamation, only interested in themselves, rather than the people."

"Doctor, do you know see why we can't leave? You called me a very scared man, which I take great offence to. I am not scared, and I will not run away from this planet, until my job is done. But, with your knowledge of the Barbarus, you can help us get to the Vault, so we can go home even quicker. Doctor, please. Don't do it for the Proclamation, don't do it for me, do it for every other person in this room, help me to keep them alive."

The Doctor looked up at the captain, and sighed.

"Captain, I want you to know something about me. I never say no."

The captain smiled and started to nod, and rushed away from the Doctor towards the centre of the room, where he started to speak in a loud, bellowing voice that echoed throughout the bunker.

"Numbers 53, 16, 30, 29 and 42, join me! The rest of you are to stay here and attend to the people."

From positions across the room, five soldiers made their way to the centre of the room, where they each took a single knee and the captain stood in the middle of the five men, briefing each of them on the situation. The Doctor pulled Amy to the side of the room, and quietly spoke to her.

"Amelia, I need you to stay here, in the bunker, where it's safe."

Amy seemed annoyed at the Doctor's request and snapped at him.

"Doctor, I don't need babysitting, I'll be fine."

The Doctor snapped back at her, in the way a parent would when reasoning with their child.

"It's not babysitting, but it is too dangerous with the Barbarus out there, you will be safer here!"

"Oh, so this is how it works, it gets the slight bit dangerous and I have to stay away?"

Again, the Doctor showed increasing frustration at Amy's refusal to listen to him.

"Amy, this isn't a 'slight bit' dangerous! This is perhaps the most danger that everyone in this bunker, on this planet, will ever face in their entire lives, including me. That's right, this scares even me, because I have never seen anything like the Barbarus, I never thought something like that would exist, an hour ago, I still thought it was a myth. But my worst nightmares are becoming reality, and that is not good – for anyone. So, I know you feel like I am being overbearing, but when I admit that I am scared, you have to believe me. So, please… stay here."

Amy nodded in the most sincere way, before signalling to the Doctor for a hug between the two. He obliged, as they took each other closely, with Amy's fingers clinging tightly to the Doctor's tweed jacket. The captain's calls interrupted the Doctor and Amy's moment, before the Doctor broke his hold on her and walked away from her, giving her one last glance over his shoulder and bending his hand upwards to wave goodbye. Amy, who was chewing on her fingernails, returned the wave with her free hand, as the Doctor disappeared with the captain and his soldiers, who opened the bulkhead door to slip through it, and it slowly and surely slid shut.


End file.
